Vending machine

ABSTRACT

An improved vending or dispensing machine having individually driven panel mounted replaceable dispensing modules with theftproof merchandise supporting and dispensing means in the form of an endless carrier belt or chain having article dispensing projections.

llnited States Patent 11 1 Patrick 1 51March 13, 1973 I54] VENDING MACHINE 3,110,415 11 1963 Robbins et a1 221 77 3,294,281 12/1966 Schlaf ..22l/l55X [75] lnvemo" Pamck Mayflower 858,931 7 1907 Way ..221 s5 x [73] Ass'gneez polyvnd Conway Arki FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] Wed: June 1970- 11,799 0/1890 Great Britain ..-.221 35 [21] Appl. No.: 47,257

, Primary ExaminerSamuel F. Coleman Att -Ra mond N. Matson 52 us. c1. ..221/14, 22l/85',198/177 y [51] Int; Cl.'.. ..G07f 11/00 57 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search .[221/76-88, 69,

' 221/155 198/177 R An improved vending or dispensing machme having I individually driven panel 'mounted replaceable [56-] References Cited dispensing modules with theft-proof merchandise sup- I porting and dispensing means in the form of an UNITED STATES PATENTS endless carrier belt or chain having article dispensing I ro'ections. 1 3,163,276 12/1964 McLaughlin" .;.....22l/85X p J I 3,319,355 5/1967 Lagnese ..l98/177 R X 7 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAR 1 3197s SHEET 10F 5 FIG! AGENT PATENTEBHARI 3 ms SHEET 2 BF 5 FIGI4 INVENTOR WILLIAM A. PATRICK AGENT PATENTEDHAR 1 31973 SHEET 3 [IF 5 INVENTOR WILLIAM A. PATRICK PATENTEUHAR 1 31975 SHEET Q [If 5 N UK m T m V WILLIAM A. PATRICK AGENT PATENTEDHAR] 3197s SHEET 5 OF 5 0c M396 Om m:

|II+IIILIL IN VENTOR WILLIAM A PATRICK wm m2:

IPEsm 25o N Qt , front side of the panel.

and shaking it to effect sliding of the merchandise into the discharge bin despite the use of security bars, etc., a sl'ow and difficult loading of the machine due to the use of a helixwhich loading is susceptible of error so as to chest a customer as can also occur due to the length of the helix, the weight of the merchandise, and the resultant orbital movement of its outer end; the use of circuitry which permits the vend switches to be held closed, after depositing a single coin so'asto completely empty the vend module in question; and the conversion of the 115 volt A.C. power source to 24 volts A.C. which causes malfunctioning of certain electrical components'in the event of a voltage drop such as an erratic pay out in the coin changer.

Accordingly the main object of the present invention is to provide an improved vending and dispensing machine similar to the Schlaf machines which obviates I the above and other disadvantageous features characterizing the prior art. 7

An important object of the present invention. is to provide an improved machine of the type described in which the merchandise is dispensed by means of a novel module having an endless belt or chain provided with spaced projections which prevent theft and ensure the delivery of a single m ltandise article at a time.

Another important object of the present invention is toprovide an improved vending and dispensing machine having novel replaceable plug-in modules each separately driven and having switch means for disconnectingthem electrically from the remainder of the circuit when the modules are devoid of merchandisc.

Other, objects and advantages of the present invenl t'ion will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In th'edrawings I haveshown two embodiments of the invention. In'these showings:

FIG. 1 is. a perspective vie wgof the vending and dispensing machine;

FIG; 2 is a side-elevational view of the machine showing in dotted lines the inclined and vertically overlapping relationship of therows of vending modules;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-.3 ofFIG.2;

.FIG. is a fragmentary rear elevational'view of the module support panel showing the rear ends of the modules and their individual driving motors;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view to an enlarged scale of one form of vending module andits driving motor mounted .onthe support panel, parts beingomitted for clarity;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view thereof, parts being shown in section;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of another form of the vending module, parts being shown in section;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view thereof, parts being omitted for clarity;

FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional view to a further enlarged scale of a merchandise dispensing tab showing its cooperative relationship with the merchandise supporting rod;

FIG. 10 is a rear elevational view to an enlarged scale of one of the driving motors shown in FIG. 4 taken on the line 10-10 ofFIG. 5;

'FIG. 11 is a side elevational view thereof taken on the line 11-11 ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical system for the vending machine and its modules;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary, rear, vertical sectionalview of the detachable coupling between the driving motor and the drive module of. a replaceable vend module; and

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of a merchandise package provided with a supporting hole in its tab.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 20 designates the coin operated vending and dispensing machine as a whole which comprises a one-piece molded fiberglass outer cabinet 21 suitably supported on legs and/or rollers (not shown). The cabinet 21 is provided with a front door 22 having a glass merchandise viewing panel 23 and being hinged as at 24 and is provided with a lock 25. The cabinet includes a rear door hinged as at 26 to provide access to the rear faceof the support panel 34 to be described, and its front face includes a coin receiving slot 27, a coin return slot 30, a plurality of merchandise selector buttons 31 (one for each vending module), and a merchandise dispensing bin 32 to which access is had by a pivoted door 33.

A panel 34 which supports a plurality of. dispensing modules 35 is mounted within the cabinet 21 and inclines forwardly as indicated in FIG. 2 so that the packages to be dispensed will fall freelyfroni their module into the dispensing bin 32 without interference from the packages on lower modules whichare of increasingly shorter length for the same purpose. Each module 35 holds a series of merchandise packages 36 which have tabs with apertures 37 and may contain food such as potato chips, peanuts, etc., or any desired items. The coin slot 27 leads to a conventional slug rejector or other coin crediting mechanism and thence to a coin box '(not shown) or to the coin return slot 30. Obviously, the cabinet 21 may be heated or refrigerated as desired. v l

The dispensing means for the packages 36 are in-'- dicatedgenerally by the numeral 35 for the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and by numeral 45 for the form shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and are each of.

modular construction so that they maybe replaced individually if repair is needed.Thus, the entire vending machine does not need to be taken out of operation. This is an important operating and repair advance since make even minor repairs on the complicated vending machines now in service.

Each of the modules 35 and 45 has its own driving motor 40 so that they are self contained and either the dispensing module, its motor, or both can be replaced by unplugging the module from the basic electrical circuit and removing the supporting bolts and nuts from the panel 34.

The modules 35 and 45 are elongated housings having an inverted U-shape in lateral cross-section and extend from a position adjacent their motor 40 forwardly through a rectangular opening 41 in the support panel 34 to a point adjacent the glass viewing panel 23 in the front door 22. The modules are supported cantilever fashion on the support panel 34 by flanges 42 and each has a merchandise supporting, endless carrier shown as a roller chain 43 although a belt, etc., may be employed.

The chain 43 is supported on a front idler sprocket 44 which is mounted on a hollow shaft 46 suitably journalled in the sides of the housings 35 and 45, as at 47 and on a drive sprocket 48 similarly mounted adjacent the motor 40 and axially aligned with the motor output shaft 50. If the vend packages to be dispensed are unusually heavy, the front ends of the modules 35 and 45 may be supported by a rod 51 extending through the hollow shafts 46 from side to side of the cabinet 21.

The chain of module 35 has hooks 52 fixed thereto at regularly spaced points (depending on the thickness of the merchandise packages 36) which hooks open toward the rear of the machine. The merchandise packages 36 are easily loaded onto module 35 and are suspended from the hooks 52 by means of their apertures 37. It will be noted that the packages cannot be shaken off the hooks. However, when a given hook reaches the idler sprocket 44 during operation of the vending machine and starts upwardly, the package will naturally slide off of the hook 52 and drop into the discharge bin 32.

As shown in the drawings by way of example only (FIGS. 1-3 inclusive), the vending apparatus 20 is provided with twenty vending modules 35, 45 (four vertically spaced horizontal rows of five each) and the forward end face 53 of each bears a numeral from 1 to 20 corresponding to one of the numbered selector buttons 31 on the face of the cabinet 21. Thus, if the buyer wants merchandise from vend module No. 5, he pushes selector button No. 5 after depositing his coin.

The public is protected from the loss of their coin if they should inadvertently push the selector button of an empty module by a sold-out switch 54. This is mounted on the housings 35, 45 and included in the electrical system as will be further described and includes a feeler wire 55 pivoted to the switch as at 56. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the feeler wire 55 rests horizontally on the shoulders of the merchandise packages 36 and when the last package of a module is dispensed, the wire drops down to an inclined position and actuates the switch 54 to prevent the motor 40 for the module in question from being actuated thereafter even though its selector button is pushed.

The module 45 differs from module 35 in that the roller chain 43 is provided at spaced points with snapon plastic tabs 57 having a recess 60 instead of the hooks 52. The tabs separate the merchandise packages 36 which are supported by their apertures 37 on an elongated steel rod 61 which is pivoted as at 62 to the sides of the module 45 or to the front of the support panel 34. A tension spring 63 connects the end of a bracket 64 with the rear end 65 of the rod 61 so as to maintain the length of the rod in the recesses 60 0f the tabs 57 (FIGS. 7 and 9).

Each of the modules 45 is readily loaded with merchandise packages 36 by tilting the front end of the rod downwardly against the tension of spring 63 and threading the packages thereon and moving one package between each pair of tabs 57. When the motor 40 of a module 45 is actuated by pressing a selector button 31 and depositing a coin, as will be described in detail, all of the tabs 57 in engagement with the supporting rod 61 moved toward the front, the spacing of a pair of tabs moving the merchandise packages 30 with them. It will be apparent that the outermost package will thus be pushed off the end of the rod 61 and will fall by gravity into the discharge bin 32.

VEND MODULES DRIVE Each of the driving motors 40 of the vending modules 35, 45 includes a housing 66 mounted against the rear face of the support panel 34. A gear train is included in the housing and rotates the output shaft 50 which has a socket type coupling 67 with the drive sprocket 48 (FIG. 13). The motor 40 when activated, engages a rotor (by means of solenoid action of the rotor, not shown )with the gear train to rotate the output shaft 50 through 180. The output shaft 50 is provided with a slotted cam 70 which engages the make and break buttons 71 ofa carry-over switch 72 and a motor circuit holding switch 73, both being plug-in switches on the casing 66 which connect with receptacles 74 (FIGS. 4, 5, 10 and 11). When the motor 40 is de-energized, as will be explained in detail, its rotor is urged outwardly by a spring (not shown) out of the motor field and out of engagement with the gear train so that movement of the output shaft 50 is stopped.

The switch arrangement 72 and 73 operates such that when the appropriate selector button 31 is actuated, the motor 40 for the vend module is selected, and the motor rotor is moved into engagement with its gear train to rotate the drive sprocket 48, As it rotates, the cam 70 also rotates to move the buttons 71 on the carry over switch 72 and the motor circuit switch 73 to break the circuit from the vend relay 75 after engaging a holding circuit. After the cam 70 has rotated a full revolution, the buttons 71 on the bottom of the carry-over switch 72 and motor circuit switch 73 drops into the slot of the cam 70 and the holding circuit is broken, de-energizing the motor 40. The switching arrangement is more fully shown and described in the circuit diagram of FIG. 12.

CIRCUITRY AND OPERATION FIG. 12 shows the circuit diagram for the twenty modules 35, 45 and additional modules would be diagrammed accordingly. In the circuit, line 76 is common to all of the components, that is, the left side of the motors 40 at the contact 77, the vend relay coil 80, and the coin blocking relay 81.

The illustration of a Jones plug in FIG. 12 shows the connections through the male and female parts of the plug diagrammatically only. While the Jones plug is a convenient method of connecting the coin mechanism to the voltage source, the connections could also be made in any well-known manner. For example, line 82 is connected to the switch 83 and to either the male or female part of the Jones plug at the line 82 connection. The switch 84 is connectedto the other plug part also at the line 82 connection. When the parts of the Jones plug are in operative relationship, line 82 is connected to the switch 83. The other connections through the Jones plug are made similarly.

Upon insertion of a coin in the coin slot 27, the coin switch contact 85 is momentarily closed, thus closing a circuit from line 82 through the coin switch contact 86 to the vend relay coil 80. This energizes the vend relay 75, thus closing the contacts 87 and 90 to retain the relay 75 in closed position, and open the contacts 90 and 91 to de-energize the coil blocking relay 81 and block further deposit of coins until a vend is completed. The coin blocking relay 81 is a standard'item of equipment in vending machines and formstno particular part of this invention. Closing of the vend relay 75 also causes the contacts 92 and 85 to close to energizethe selector switch circuit indicated generally by numeral 93. At this point, the vend relay 75 is locked in, the coin blocking relay 81 is de-energized, and power is made available to the selector switches 31.

The vending machine is now in condition for a customer to select the type of merchandise desired. To do so, he pushes a selector button 31 thus completing a circuit from line 82 to the right side of the motor 40 through contacts 94 and 95 of the sold out switch 54 and contacts 96 and 97. The circuit thus established will be from line 82 through the vend relay contacts 92 and 84, the selector switch 93, the contact 95, the motor 40, and the contact 77 to line 82.

When a motor 40 is energized, as stated, its rotor is rotated and pulled into the field of the motor by a sole noid action, and the rotating rotor through the gear train, rotates the output shaft 50 (with the drive sprocket 48 and the hook or tab carrier chain 43) through a 180 cycle to drop one merchandise package 36 from a hook 52 or the rod 61 as a hook or tab starts up the idler sprocket 44.

As the output shaft 50 rotates, the slotted cam 70 also rotates, closing the contacts 100 in the carry-over switch 72 and disengaging the contacts 101 in the.

motor circuit switch 73. This action connects line 82 to the right side of the motor 40 through contacts 102, 100 and 95 in the motor unit selected and through the contacts 103 and 104 of all lower numbered motor units. Disengaging the contacts103 and 104 interrupts the circuit to all higher numbered motor units and therefore interrupts the circuit from line 82 to the relay 75 through contact 90. Interruption of the circuit through contacts 87 and 90 to one side of the relay coil 80 causes the relay 75 .to be deactivated so that contacts 87 and 90 open and also the contacts 92 and 84 open.

This interrupts the line 82.circuit to the lower numbered selector switches 31, since the pushing of the selector switch 31 (as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 12) has interrupted the circuit from line 82 to the dis ensed for each coin inserted.

he engagement of the contacts 102 and carries line 82 to the right side of the motor 40 and compensates for interruption of the circuit through the selector switch circuits 93 by the deenergizing of the relay 75. After a rotation of the slotted cam 70, the carryover switch 72 contact 100 breaks with contact 102 to break the circuit from line 82 to the motor 40 and deactivates the motor. The foregoing returns all of the switches to their initial at-rest position and the vending machine 20 is in condition to receive another coin.

lt is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as I preferred examples of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a vending machine cabinet having a generally vertical support panel including apertures for supporting a plurality of individually removable dispensing modules; of a dispensing module having one end mounted in one of said apertures and being detachably secured to said panel; said dispensing module comprising an elongated, inverted U-shaped housing having idler and driving sprockets journalled in the sides of said housing at opposite ends thereof, an endless chain mounted on said sprockets, merchandise package supporting hooks open rearwardly toward said driving sprocket and fixed to said chain at spaced points and when in depending position terminating in an upturned portion, said hooks being operative to carry the packages toward said idler sprocket upon rotation of said driving sprocket, and means mounted on said housing adjacent the panel for driving saiddrive sprocket and said chain the spacing of two packages.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said drive sprocket is provided with an axial socket and said driving means comprises a rotary motor having a drive shaft engageable in said socket.

3. The combination recited in claim 2, wherein said motor and its shaft are respectively dismountable from said housing and withdrawable from said socket without dismounting said housing from said panel.

4. The combination recited in claim 1, and means mounted in the vending machine cabinet for selectively connecting said driving sprocket with said driving means.

5. The combination recited in claim 4, wherein the selective connecting means electrically disconnects said driving means upon moving the lower run of said chain forwardly the spacing of two packages.

6. The combination recited in claim 4, and a sold-out switch means mounted on said housing and being operatively associated with merchandise packages, said chain, and said connecting means and preventing energization of said connecting means when said hooks are empty of merchandise packages.

7. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said idler sprocket is hollow for the reception of a housing supporting rod. 

1. The combination with a vending machine cabinet having a generally vertical support panel including apertures for supporting a plurality of individually removable dispensing modules; of a dispensing module having one end mounted in one of said apertures and being detachably secured to said panel; said dispensing module comprising an elongated, inverted U-shaped housing having idler and driving sprockets journalled in the sides of said housing at opposite ends thereof, an endless chain mounted on said sprockets, merchandise package supporting hooks open rearwardly toward said driving sprocket and fixed to said chain at spaced points and when in depending position terminating in an upturned portion, said hooks being operative to carry the packages toward said idler sprocket upon rotation of said driving sprocket, and means mounted on said housing adjacent the panel for driving said drive sprocket and said chain the spacing of two packages.
 1. The combination with a vending machine cabinet having a generally vertical support panel including apertures for supporting a plurality of individually removable dispensing modules; of a dispensing module having one end mounted in one of said apertures and being detachably secured to said panel; said dispensing module comprising an elongated, inverted U-shaped housing having idler and driving sprockets journalled in the sides of said housing at opposite ends thereof, an endless chain mounted on said sprockets, merchandise package supporting hooks open rearwardly toward said driving sprocket and fixed to said chain at spaced points and when in depending position terminating in an upturned portion, said hooks being operative to carry the packages toward said idler sprocket upon rotation of said driving sprocket, and means mounted on said housing adjacent the panel for driving said drive sprocket and said chain the spacing of two packages.
 2. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said drive sprocket is provided with an axial socket and said driving means comprises a rotary motor having a drive shaft engageable in said socket.
 3. The combination recited in claim 2, wherein said motor and its shaft are respectively dismountable from said housing and withdrawable from said socket without dismounting said housing from said panel.
 4. The combination recited in claim 1, and means mounted in the vending machine cabinet for selectively connecting said driving sprocket with said driving means.
 5. The combination recited in claim 4, wherein the selective connecting means electrically disconnects said driving means upon moving the lower run of said chain forwardly the spacing of two packages.
 6. The combination recited in claIm 4, and a sold-out switch means mounted on said housing and being operatively associated with merchandise packages, said chain, and said connecting means and preventing energization of said connecting means when said hooks are empty of merchandise packages. 